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Friday, December 28, 2012

Yes, today we celebrate our 2nd birthday here on John's Island. Two years of blogging and it has been a lot of fun. We take this opportunity to thank all our followers and especially those who have given us the kind comments!

Peace be with you on this Christmas Day

John

Thursday, December 20, 2012

We caught a fleeting glimpse of Santa and Mrs. Claus thanks to Gregg's Cycle shop in a classic old Seattle neighborhood. We are not sure if Santa is giving us a left-handed salute or perhaps that the whole thing is giving him a headache. Either way, it is sure nice to see them together and Mrs. Claus with such a nice smile. This spotting reminded us to pass along Season's Greetings from John's Island. Wishing you and your family the best for the holidays.

We will leave you with a memorable 2008 mountain sunrise from our archives. The scene is in the Madison Valley of Montana. Not exactly the middle-of-nowhere, but pretty close. Thanks for stopping by John's Island.

Monday, December 17, 2012

If you had traveled to Glacier National Park about 90 years ago you might have stopped at the gift shop in the Lodge and picked up a little something to help you remember your trip. Perhaps it would have been this little playing-card sized box of Handcolored Art Views of the Park. The little 2 1/2 x 3 1/2 cards, offered in a slip-cover box, are called "handcolored" because this was before color photography. Black and white photos were taken and then hand colored by artists. And, of course, it would be nice to pick up "half a hundred" of the cards for only $1.00.

Here at John's Island we collect this sort of memorabilia. We are especially interested in Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks. This time of year when we are inside we like to go through and enjoy some of these things in the collection. These little cards were produced by T. J. Hileman, who was the Official Photographer of Glacier National Park and you can read more about him here.

Baring Falls

Bear Grass on Iceberg Lake Trail

Cut Bank Chalets and River

Garden Wall and Valley

Glacier Park Hotel

Going-to-the-Sun Mountain

Grinnell Lake and Glacier

Josephine Lake and Gould Mountain

Lake Ellen Wilson from Gunsight Pass

Lake St Mary below Narrows

Lobby Glacier Park Hotel

Lobby Many Glacier Hotel

Many Glacier Hotel

Morning Eagle Falls

Mt Rockwell

Ptarmigan Lake

South from Granite Park

Sunset McDermott Lake

Swift Current Glacier and Trail

Switchbacks Swift Current Trail

Tourists at Many Glacier Hotel

Trick Falls

Twin Falls

Two Medicine Chalets

Two Medicine Lake from Chalets

Two Medicine Lake

As you were looking at the cards you may have noticed some deterioration. They are, after all, somewhere around 90 years old. In several ways they can actually be enjoyed more now looking at them online. For example, they are enlarged here about 3x and it is easy to click through them. Thank you for stopping by John's Island. We welcome and appreciate your kind comments.

Friday, December 14, 2012

Join John on a walk around Green Lake's Pathway of Lights, December, 2012. The Seattle Parks Department and the Green Lake Community do a wonderful job of putting this together. The walk around the lake is almost 3 miles and the entire trail is illuminated.

John thought about Skywatch Friday when snapping this one.If you were watching the sky this night, you saw little blue lights floating aroundup in the sky. In this photo they look like stars.

About John's Island

Not a geological island but a virtual place on the WWW to share: A collection of old postcards, railroad and travel history, photography, and other vintage memorabilia. Also, a journal to share items of interest. Thanks for stopping by and your comments are welcome.